Well needless to say after my little outburst caught on tape about my mistreatment in the drama department the roles did not immediately come flooding in. Add to that I lost all the speech points and had to contact every school and recalculate ALL the points, I was convinced that I was not going to get any more parts in any plays. I joined the track team which was another dismal failure on my part but at least I felt I was doing something. I even got my picture in the yearbook as a track and field member! I also decided to be a little rebellious...I would sneak out during choir sectionals and go to the cafeteria to eat donuts! I know I know I was terrible! Well when it came time for tryouts for the spring Musical I told everyone I was not even going to bother trying out...I mean really did I need that kind of rejection AGAIN?!??! Another posting of a cast list without my name on it...no thanks! But then our choir director announced that everyone who was in choir was REQUIRED to tryout. HRMPF! So I tried out but was very lackluster about it. The day the cast list was posted my friend and I had snuck out of sectionals and gone to the cafeteria for our morning doughnut. When we figured they were about over with sectionals we headed back up to the choir room to find the director and the entire choir waiting for us at the top of the stairs. Mr. B the Director was red faced and fuming..I really think he even stamped his feet and clenched his fists and shook them at us. Other than a parent I had never seen an adult that angry! He shouted at us that he could not believe the day the cast list was posted we had ditched sectionals. I was a little nervous but ultimately I felt like what else can he do to me?? Then I saw the cast list and there is was Jeanne Carey cast as Fruma Sarah. I was a little shocked for 2 reasons. 1. I got cast. 2. I got cast as Fruma Sarah a ghost come back to haunt Tevya in his dream who had a very operatic voice (VERY out of my range). Hmmmmm
Well rehearsals began and I was a bit nervous about my role. I had to sit on top of a 6 Ft Korean kid and screaming PEARLS PEARLS while the Korean kid who was covered by a really long dress ran me around the stage!! Plus I was not at all comfortable with the range I had to sing in!!! I felt like I had been setup for failure. But as the show came together and I became more comfortable with the singing and the running around I started to really enjoy my role! We had a professional makeup artist come in and give us tips on make-up. When he got me he was all hmm this one is going to be very hard because we have to take a very lovely young lady and turn her into a hideous ghost. I was blushing! The Fine Arts director spent around $800 on my scene alone to get the costumes right, the bed that spins, the fog machines, and the make-up artist!! He even said to me if you really think I don’t like you why would I put this much time and money into your scene??? Then when we opened and my scene became the most acclaimed scene in the show with everyone at school talking about my performance I was overjoyed!!! Not only that but my Mother who has a tendency to be a bit critical told me "Anyone could play the roles of the daughters they are vanilla, but Fruma Sarah, Jeanne no one could pull that role off but you!!" W.O.W!!! To this day I look back on that role and those performances with the fondest of memories!
